Sonoma County OKs final employee group contract

Sonoma County supervisors Tuesday ratified a new labor agreement with the final group of employees at the bargaining table.

The new two-year contract with Engineers and Scientists of California Local 20 IFPTE, representing about 235 workers, includes the same pension concessions achieved in deals so far with the county's 10 other employee groups.

After offsets that would add to wages and assist with employee health care costs, the reduction in total compensation for the group came to 2.37 percent. The county's largest bargaining groups negotiated a cut of 2.25 percent.

Overall, the county estimates it will save about about $12.9 million annually in payroll costs from the new contracts. They were aimed mostly at reducing skyrocketing pension costs and are projected to save taxpayers $170 million over the next 10 years, or $20 million more than the county's original target.

Including bond debt, annual pension costs now account for about 19 percent, or $98.3 million, of the county's current $530 million payroll.